THEATRE REVIEW: It’s Time for a Musical Lyric Theatre, Dinnington

MANY of us over the last 18 months may have wished we could travel through space and time to somewhere, or sometime, far away, to get away from the pandemic that has transformed all of our lives.

The performers of Dinnington Operatic Society might have felt the same way given they have not been able to be on stage since the first Covid lockdown last March.

So one can imagine the relief of those performers when they were able, finally, to don their finest gear at the Lyric Theatre and transport the audience with numbers from musicals from throughout the years.

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And it was Doctor Who himself — alright, it was Steve Ball dressed as Tom Baker’s Doctor — who, complete with an impressive TARDIS, took us on that journey in It’s Time For a Musical, which ran from Thursday to Saturday last week.

It was a fine mix of songs from classic and modern musicals — some medleys and some standalone hits — all performed by a cast which has not lost its sparkle during an enforced break.

It was Ball who gave a deliberately melancholy rendition of There’s No Business Like Show Business, capturing the mood of how those performers must have felt when any return to the stage seemed permanently out of sight.

But that feeling gradually turned into one of optimism with more uplifting songs such as Hamilton’s My Shot, performed by Catherine Enos, followed by a megamix from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, showcasing the talents of some of the society’s leading men — Scott Walker, Lewis Maltby and the ever-impressive Ashley Booker.

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The nature of the show meant that most of the cast were wearing dinner jackets or evening gowns regardless of which song they were singing or which production they were performing in — but why shouldn’t the cast don their finery on such an occasion?

Maltby and Sam Bates gave an impressive rendition of A Million Dreams — a difficult song to sing, especially given the immense popularity of The Greatest Showman. They performed with Daisy Mikulik, who also got it spot on.

The leading ladies were also pitch-perfect throughout the night — including Sam Smedley, Louise Selden, Alex Fergusson, Joanne Thornewell, Daily Mikulik and Kirstie Turnbull who gave an entertaining rendition from Six, the modern retelling of the six wives of Henry VIII.

There were really too many accomplished performances to mention in a show which featured timeless classics such as Greased Lightning and I’m Gonna Wash That Man.

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The night finished on a high with the entire company performing Radio Gaga, as featured in We Will Rock You, and a Mamma Mia Medley.

Dinnington Operatic Society is well and truly back — and now the preparations are underway for their pantomime, Cinderella, in January.